It's common sense pay attention while driving, but area law enforcement say too many drivers are not. Stats from 2013-15 show increased fatalities on U.S. 127 due to lane violations when drivers go left of center or drive of the road.
"Due to there's not much congestion in our rural areas, like they would have in bigger cities, some may think that it doesn't require the same amount of attention, but in fact, it does," said Lt. Timothy Grigsby, with the Van Wert Post of Ohio State Highway Patrol.Â
From March 1st through April 30th, the patrol will be working a high-visibility enforcement in Van Wert and Paulding counties focusing on distracted driving.
"It's also an educational effort. It's not just go out and issue a bunch of tickets. We want to stop the issue and the fatal crashes before it happens," said Lt. Grigsby.Â
In an effort to have drivers stay in their lanes, rumble stripes were installed along U.S. 127 last fall.
"There is few other things that we can do that will do what a rumble stripe can do, so we are hoping it will make a big difference in left of center accidents," said Rhonda Pees, ODOT Public Information Officer.
Since they were installed on us 127, authorities say they have seen a decrease in the number of crashes along the road. And others have noticed it too.Â
"Residents who live along the routes where we've installed them, have noticed an uptick in the noise. If they are hitting them, then hopefully they are doing something to correct the behavior that they are undertaking at that moment," Pees said. Â
For the next couple of months, Van Wert post will be out looking for drivers who are not paying attention.Â
